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Michael Breen is a writer & consultant who first came to South Korea as a correspondent in 1982. He's covered North & South Korea for several newspapers, including the Guardian, The Times & the Washington Times. Few are more knowledgeable about Korea than Michael Breen, a trained journalist who's lived here for many years & whose connections go right to the very heart of the country. His new book, The New Koreans, explains the history, the business & the culture of South Korea, as well as...

Smoking habit data released in 2016 reports that despite recent price increases for a pack of cigarettes in South Korea, more than 20% of young smokers will continue smoking. To find out what those results mean, Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland spoke with University of Illinois at Chicago Health Policy Center director Dr. Frank Chaloupka & American Cancer Society economic & health policy research senior data analyst Qing Li. Find more info on the research cited in this report at...

The Nikkei Asian Review recently published a piece on rather surprising Moon Jae-in supporters leading up to the special election he won to replace former President Park Geun-hye who current remains jailed following her impeachment. Moon's support from this group was so surprising, it's even been dubbed "the great sensation". Who are they? North Korean defectors. Melbourne-based reporter John Power has spent several years living in & writing about the Korean Peninsula & continues to cover...

ConsumerAffairs.com writer Amy Martyn recently wrote a piece titled "Booze, bribes and propaganda: The company that promises 'safe' travel in North Korea" regarding the tour company American college student Otto Warmbier took (Young Pioneer Tours) before being detained for allegedly stealing a poster. After being sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, the world didn't get an update on his case until recently when North Korea allowed Warmbier, by then in a coma, to return to the US where he...

The Nikkei Asian Review recently published a piece on rather surprising Moon Jae-in supporters leading up to the special election he won to replace former President Park Geun-hye who current remains jailed following her impeachment. Moon's support from this group was so suprising, it's even been dubbed "the great sensation". Who are they? North Korean defectors.
Melbourne-based reporter John Power has spent several years living in & writing about the Korean Peninsula & continues to cover...

ConsumerAffairs.com writer Amy Martyn recently wrote a piece titled "Booze, bribes and propaganda: The company that promises 'safe' travel in North Korea" regarding the tour company American college student Otto Warmbier took (Young Pioneer Tours) before being detained for allegedly stealing a poster. After being sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, the world didn't get an update on his case until recently when North Korea allowed Warmbier, by then in a coma, to return to the US where he...

Barry Welsh's "Seoul Book and Culture Club" recently played host to author Michael Breen, who discussed his newly released book "The New Koreans". To better understand the text & the Q&A session contained in this podcast, in our previous episode, Korea FM spoke with Breen about "The New Koreans" & why it was written. Now, in the final chapter of that discussion, we bring you audio of the Q&A with author Michael Breen & those in attendance at the Barry Welsh's public meeting of the Seoul...

Barry Welsh's "Seoul Book and Culture Club" recently played host to author Michael Breen, who discussed his newly released book "The New Koreans". To better understand the text & the Q&A session contained in this podcast, in our previous episode, Korea FM spoke with Breen about "The New Koreans" & why it was written. Now, in the final chapter of that discussion, we bring you audio of the Q&A with author Michael Breen & those in attendance at Barry Welsh's public meeting of the Seoul Book &...

Michael Breen is a writer & consultant who first came to South Korea as a correspondent in 1982. He's covered North & South Korea for several newspapers, including the Guardian, The Times & the Washington Times. Few are more knowledgeable about Korea than Michael Breen, a trained journalist who's lived here for many years & whose connections go right to the very heart of the country. His new book, The New Koreans, explains the history, the business a& the culture of South Korea, as well as...

A 2016 education report from The Economist asks if higher wages or less working hours make a better teacher. While South Korea has one of the highest wages for public teachers in the OECD, public teachers in the ROK also spend double the average amount of time on administrative tasks. Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland spoke with Economist data journalist Slavea Chankova & Ellen Sherratt, the co-Deputy Director of the Center on Great Teachers & Leaders & senior researcher at American...

A 2016 education report from The Economist asks if higher wages or less working hours make a better teacher. While South Korea has one of the highest wages for public teachers in the OECD, public teachers in the ROK also spend double the average amount of time on administrative tasks. Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland spoke with Economist data journalist Slavea Chankova & Ellen Sherratt, the co-Deputy Director of the Center on Great Teachers & Leaders & senior researcher at American...

Seoul-based reporter Steven Borowiec recently wrote an article for Aljazeera English titled "Why young South Koreans are turning away from religion". Borowiec spoke with Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland to discuss the personal stories & data from his research, as well as the educational & job pressures that appear to be behind the trend. Read more about the issue in Steven Borowiec's article at...

Seoul-based reporter Steven Borowiec recently wrote an article for Aljazeera English titled "Why young South Koreans are turning away from religion". Borowiec spoke with Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland to discuss the personal stories & data from his research, as well as the educational & job pressures that appear to be behind the trend. Read more about the issue in Steven Borowiec's article at...

Recently, Seoul-based think tank The Asia Institute held a peace march in the capital. The event was open to the public, & peace activist Yoh Kawanaka was invited to travel to Seoul from Japan to participate. Kawanaka spoke with Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland to discuss the peace march, her wish for better relations between South Korea & Japan, & new Japanese laws she says prevent activists' voices from being heard. Find more info on the Asia Institute's peace march at...

Recently, Seoul-based think tank The Asia Institute held a peace march in the capital. The event was open to the public, & peace activist Yoh Kawanaka was invited to travel to Seoul from Japan to participate. Kawanaka spoke with Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland to discuss the peace march, her wish for better relations between South Korea & Japan, & new Japanese laws she says prevent activists' voices from being heard. Find more info on the Asia Institute's peace march at...

The Asia Institute is a Seoul-based think tank that addresses global issues with a focus on Asia, committed to presenting a balanced perspective that takes into account the concerns of the entire region for current trends in technology, international relations, the economy & the environment. Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland has covered several of their talks & lectures over the last few years & recently spoke with Asia Institute Director & Kyung Hee University professor Emanuel Pastreich...

The Asia Institute is a Seoul-based think tank that addresses global issues with a focus on Asia, committed to presenting a balanced perspective that takes into account the concerns of the entire region for current trends in technology, international relations, the economy & the environment. Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland has covered several of their talks & lectures over the last few years & recently spoke with Asia Institute Director & Kyung Hee University professor Emanuel Pastreich...

Recently a column appeared on NKNews.org that directly made light of how US President Donald Trump has influenced what’s going on here on the Korean Peninsula, & it didn’t paint the new president in a very good light. Under the title “How Donald Trump is seriously undermining the South Korea-U.S. alliance”, the article begins with a description of how things generally operate here regarding North Korea, noting that “As long as North Korea is able to make life a living hell for whoever...

Recently a column appeared on NKNews.org that directly made light of how US President Donald Trump has influenced what’s going on here on the Korean Peninsula, & it didn’t paint the new president in a very good light. Under the title “How Donald Trump is seriously undermining the South Korea-U.S. alliance”, the article begins with a description of how things generally operate here regarding North Korea, noting that “As long as North Korea is able to make life a living hell for whoever...

Recently, over 1,000 foreign runners participated in the Pyongyang, North Korea Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon. Held every year since 1981, the race only began accepting participants from outside North Korea in 2014, & the very next year, Laura Imkamp was one of those who traveled to North Korea to participate. The Shanghai-based German expat spoke to Korea FM reporter Chance Dorland to describe her experiences & what she learned while running the event.
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